Dam



Jan. 12, 1932. SW. STEWART Filed Mgrch 2. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 12, 1932. s, w, STEWART 1,840,540

DAM

Filed March 2, 1928 S Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORN E YS.

Jan. 12, 1932. 5; w, STEWART 1,840,540

DAM

Filed March 2. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ll m1.-

HHHIIIII IN VEN TOR.

I A TTORNEYS.

A tion is to improve Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPENCER W. STEWART, OF WHITE STRUCTION COMPANY, INC., OF

DAM

Application filed March 2,

My invention relates to a novel and improved dam, and will be best understood from the following description, when read inconnection with the accompanying drawings. In those drawings, I have shown a selected embodiment of my invention, and referring thereto Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view through a dam, taken on a plane generally parallel to the direction of flow of the stream.

Fig. 2 is a section corresponding to Fig. 1, but taken through the spillway of the dam.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a View of a portion of the down- K stream face of the dam.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1. The dam which I have shown for purposes of illustration, comprises an upstream wall or deck 1 of the flat slab type, although it is to be understood that this upstream wall may be made of any other suitable construction. The dam is of the skeleton type which has a relatively thin upstream wall supported from beneath, and one of the objects of the inventhe means for supporting the upstream wall and to render its construction more economical.

It has been common in the past to provide spaced buttresses to support the wall, and these buttresses must be placed relatively close together in order to properly support the wall, particularly with dams of great height. Each buttress must also be properly designed as a column.

According to my invention, I provide a plurality of towers beneath the wall and supporting the same. Each tower may consist of a pair of buttresses 2, connected by a web or diaphragm 3. Each buttress may be provided with the usual haunches 4, adapted to support the member forming the wall 1. This wall is preferably made in the form of sections, spanning the distance between adj acent buttresses and may be of the flat form shown, or may be arched, if found preferable.

1928. Serial No. 258,463.

Preferably, the webs or diaphragms extend between projecting pilasters 5 which are formed upon each buttress, and also extend substantially the entire height of the buttresses so as to form rigid bracing therebetween. Under ordinary conditions, however, it would not be necessary to extend these webs completely to the top of the buttresses, and therefore I have shown them terminated beneath the deck. The Webs and the buttresses which they connect form towers capable of supporting themselves and carrying the desired load independently of the adjacent towers under ordinary conditions, although under some extreme conditions it may be necessary to tie together adjoining towers, for example to resist side thrust from a hill on one or both ends of the dam.

The portion of the dam under the spillway may be constructed as shown in Fig. 2, wherein the webs 3 which are disposed adjacent the front or downstream face of the dam may be omitted and replaced by the apron 6, over which the water passes to the hearth 7.

By the above construction, I provide a plurality of spaced towers of skeleton form, the members of which may be made more economical with respect to the amount of material used, than if individual buttresses were employed. Each tower forms a braced support of increased stability, particularly as a column, and is therefore of particular advantage where dams of substantial height are being constructed. The individual members of the towers and wall are preferably made of reinforced concrete, although the reinforcement has notbeen shown in the drawings because the reinforcement itself forms no part of this invention.

WVith the tower construction described, it is also possible to materially increase the span between buttresses over previous practice. lVhile I have shown the span between towers as being the same as that between buttresses in a tower, it is to be understood that I am not limited to that construction as obviously these spans may vary, as desired.

I claim 1. A dam comprising an upstream inclined deck, a plurality of spaced towers disposed beneath said deck on the downstream side thereof, each tower comprising a pair of buttresses extending up and down-stream, and vertically extending walls integral with said buttresses and extending therebetween and terminating below said deck.

2. A dam comprising an upstream inclined deck, a plurality of spaced towers disposed beneath said deck on the downstream side thereof, each tower comprising a pair of buttresses extending up and down-stream, and braces integral with said buttresses and rigidly securing them together independently of the deck for only the major portion of the height of the buttresses.

SPENCER \V. STEWART. 

